Why Personality Is Fundamental During The Hiring Process

There is no such thing as a perfect candidate for any given job, but finding one is nevertheless the goal of each and every recruiter out there – from hiring managers all the way to organizers, idealistic thinking tends to dominate the realm of job-hunting at large, such that this overwhelming drive for perfection has the potential to skew the process in its entirety.

Despite certain unrealistic criteria which we may hopelessly cling to, there are a great deal of particularities – from flaws and quirks to strengths and positive attributes – that can help ground employers while searching for their company’s next big prodigy.

Whether you’re looking to improve your work with a financial recruiter or simply accelerate the productivity of your more general hiring overseers, observing a potential employee’s soft skills are always a worthwhile endeavor, however difficult it may be for an employer to take note of, let alone understand, the personality and soft skills of a potential employee – not only is it a challenge for hiring committees to determine the genuine (as opposed to performed) qualities of a candidate, it is difficult for the candidate to draw that necessary boundary between appropriate comradery and feigned friendliness during an interview.

Indeed, determining the kinds of soft skills to look for in an employee can be quite the conundrum; and while their interpersonal attributes shouldn’t overshadow their experience, track record, and ultimately, their hard skills, nor should they be overlooked in favour of what is listed on a resume; indeed, there ought to be a nice balance between soft and hard skill evaluation.

Finding someone with a balance will contribute to productivity, as individuals will be highly skilled in practical terms and simultaneously team-oriented. Moreover, it helps build better relationships both within and without your office; if your team is happy, then it’s likely those they encounter – i.e., those who represent potential clientele or business – will also be happy, as far as clear-cut communication and polite exchanges go. The experience of the customer is, no doubt, vital and in order for employees to nurture these kinds of relationships, they must first develop them amongst themselves.

On the one hand, soft skills are constitutive of how you work with others. In contradistinction, hard skills relate only to you, as a unique individual. While the latter is valued by employers because it typically represents the actual know-how needed to do a job, the former – soft skills – is, essentially, what allows hard skills to prosper; in other words, soft skills have the potential to cultivate a healthy environment in which hard skills can excel. Indeed, it’s not likely that good work can be done in a toxic environment where people are unable to coordinate with each other in a reasonable fashion.

Speaking succinctly, soft skills are a mix of emotional and practical intelligence, but there are nevertheless specific ways to group these skills and identify them in individuals. Some of the most sought-after skills go as follows:

- Trustworthiness

- Creativity

- Openness To Teamwork

- Social Skills

- Friendliness

- Problem-Solving

- Communication

- Organization

- The Ability To Take Orders And Listen

While the technical know-how of hard skills may bring about immediate results, one should never overlook the soft skills that allow them to exist – both skill sets are integral to the smooth functioning of every business. In this sense, hiring managers must understand their candidates both as individuals and as members of a team situated in a fast-paced environment that requires cooperation, coordination, and empathy.